My Top 3 Go to Exercises
by Lizzie Griffin in Uncategorised
Barbell squats are a personal favourite doing and teaching because they are more complicated than what it seems, whether it is keeping the heels on the floor, stopping your hips from swaying, keeping your back straight and upright or stopping your knees from dropping in. The way someone squats can tell a lot on how a person is whether they have any previous or on-going injuries, can also see what muscles need adjusting and stretching out which can then help improve everyday life. Although Barbell squats can look the most scary it is actually one of the most beneficial. The legs store hormones such as testosterone and cortisol both of these hormones are beneficial to the body as cortisol helps reduces swelling and is a key factor in our response to stress. Testosterone is a needed hormone as this is a key element to repairing muscle tissue after training and it also helps build skeletal muscles.
Cable flies are also a great exercise to do as the cables can be easily adjusted for incline, standard and decline. Mixing these three variations of flies helps you target the three main areas of your pectoral muscles. Starting with incline cable flies this targets the upper part of the chest (Clavicle Head) then standard flies targets the largest part of the chest the mid-section (pectoralis major) with the decline flies targeting the lower part of the chest (pectoralis minor). Each muscle group will need to be trained separately due to the change of angle the muscle fibres are positioned. To train a specific muscle you must go with the muscle fibres and work with them to see the best results for development. Incorporating these three variations into your training plan will ensure a more even and fuller chest.
As we get older one of the first things that we will lose is our ability to balance and be coordinated so its vital to continue to practice and train basic skills. What I find is helpful is to practise standing on one leg and throwing a ball against the wall and catching with the other hand. Such a basic task many will find difficult so your challenge is to see how many you can do on each side and track it over the next few weeks and see if you can increase your score. The ability to have more control over your body helps you perform day to day tasks much more easily but will also keep the mind active keeping you more alert meaning you are able to make decisions much faster and have better reactions.
